This is a crossover episode between WTF Is on My Mind and Remember Your Greatness.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtf-is-on-my-mind/id1646783869

People have watched me go from What the Bleep Do We Know?! to Narcissism, Cults, and Dark Psychology, and some have asked what the two have to do with each other. This episode is my answer.

Narcissism is, in essence, the ego gone completely out of control. Spiritual and philosophical traditions have talked about the true self versus the false self for centuries, and I think Narcissistic Personality Disorder shows us exactly what happens when that false self becomes so disconnected from reality that it takes over completely.

In this episode I talk about:

- The difference between the false self we construct and the true self that feels more constant and eternal
- The "I AM" state, and what happens when people touch that place of pure presence
- How our thoughts can become completely detached from reality when we mistake them for our identity
- Why communal narcissism can look like altruism and care when it is actually feeding a false sense of self
- Keith Raniere's use of the word "pride," and why disabling healthy ego makes people easier to control
- Why trying to destroy the ego is just another ego trip, and why that approach backfires
- What cult leaders reveal about this pattern taken to its extreme

Narcissism is a warning signal for what happens when we become spiritually dysregulated. Understanding it is not just about spotting it in other people. It is about understanding the same mechanism in ourselves.

If this resonates with you, check out Narcissist's Playbook, our documentary featuring Dr. Ramani Durvasula, Dr. Heather Berlin, Richard Grannon, Evan Rachel Wood and a host of self-confessed narcissists, available to rent at NarcissistsPlaybook.uscreen.io

As always, stay curious.

This is Awakening Chats, a collaboration between Remember Your Greatness and my wife Bonnie Piesse's podcast, Your Quantum Life

In this conversation, Bonnie and I dig into an idea she's been sitting with for a while: getting stuck at the door. It's what happens when someone has a real, profound spiritual experience and then attaches that experience entirely to whatever triggered it. The practice, the teacher, the building, the place. And they mistake the doorway for what's actually on the other side of it.

We each bring our own stories into this. Bonnie talks about her first big awakening through Kriya Yoga at 25, and how convinced she was that everyone would feel what she felt if they just did the same practice. I talk about a childhood experience in the bush outside Johannesburg that I spent years believing I could only access in that one place, and a moment as an altar server when a bishop put his hand on my head and I felt something enormous, something I later attached to that church for a long time.

From there we get into why this pattern is dangerous. Why finding "the thing" so often turns into everyone else being wrong. Why some people who go through a genuine awakening end up more constricted, more judgmental, more fearful than before, instead of more open. We talk about religious and spiritual bypassing, splitting into all good and all bad thinking, ego, safety, and what happens when people bury their own darkness instead of integrating it.

I also bring in a story about someone close to me who did real harm to our family, then found religion and acted like none of it happened. That connects directly to the cult work I do. It's the same underlying mechanism.

We land on a phrase that came out of one of our own conversations: worshipping the door. The idea that whatever gets you to a profound experience is not the experience itself, and mistaking the two is where people get stuck.

This is the start of what we hope is an ongoing series. No fixed schedule. We'll show up when we've got something worth talking through. Let us know what you think, and whether you've had your own experience of getting stuck at a door.

In this powerful joint episode between Remember Your Greatness with Mark Vicente and Your Quantum Life with Bonnie Piesse, Bonnie shares the extraordinary story of her spiritual awakening in 2016—the experience that ultimately led to her seeing through the NXIVM cult and triggering its downfall.

Bonnie describes her self-imposed 10-day meditation retreat in Marina Del Rey, where she confronted what she calls "the abyss"—a dark, infinite void that paradoxically contained everything. On July 7, 2016 (7-7), she broke through her fear barriers and experienced a profound Kundalini awakening filled with light, joy, and what she describes as "light codes" rewiring her DNA.

For three months, Bonnie lived in a state of bliss and fearlessness—completely free from the unworthiness and self-doubt that had kept her trapped in the cult's control structure. But when she shared her experience, the cult's leadership responded with hostility and ridicule, revealing the true nature of the organization.

This is the untold story behind HBO's The Vow—how one woman's spiritual breakthrough gave her the clarity and courage to see the truth and eventually help bring down one of the most notorious cults in recent history.

Bonnie Piesse is a soul alignment and manifestation coach, actress (Star Wars) and host of the podcast "Your Quantum Life." She helps conscious leaders and visionaries remember who they really are and step into their true power and light.
Learn more at https://yourquantumlife.myflodesk.com/mentorship
https://www.instagram.com/yourquantumlife/

Mark Vicente is an award-winning filmmaker, author, and mentor who directed "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" and became a key whistleblower in exposing the NXIVM cult (HBO's "The Vow"). He hosts "Remember Your Greatness" and "WTF Is On My Mind?!" podcasts and mentors artists, creatives, and visionaries in stepping into their authentic voice and greatest impact. Mark believes everyone has a unique message for the world that emerges from becoming the most embodied version of themselves.
Learn more at https://www.markvicente.com/mentoring
https://www.instagram.com/rememberyour_greatness/